Update on San Diego Construction Project

Construction continues at Bethel Seminary San Diego and the building project is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. The project has involved a new addition as well as extensive renovation of the existing building. The addition and renovations include a two-story 14,500-square-foot addition and 6,800-square-foot renovation allowing for a 380- to 400-seat chapel and conference center, additional classroom spaces, offices, and an expanded student center.

A few expected construction challenges have presented themselves this summer for students, faculty, and staff during the project. As part of the renovation project, existing classrooms were demolished and summer classes met in College Avenue Baptist Church, located across the street from the seminary's campus. Restrooms in the buildings were also demolished and students, faculty, and staff have been using “restroom trailers” during the summer. The new restrooms are scheduled to be completed later this fall.

A final challenge was working in record-breaking heat without air conditioning this summer. “In August, San Diego County had a three-week span of record-breaking high temperatures that coincided exactly with the three weeks in which all of the seminary's air conditioning units were removed and replaced,” explains Bethel Seminary San Diego Dean John Lillis. “San Diego staff gained a new appreciation for missionaries working in the tropics with no air conditioning.”

Lillis added that all the personnel involved have responded with admirable adaptability to these various challenges in the last few months and the seminary's operations have continued without interruption. Fall classes begin September 17 and will be held in the College Avenue Baptist Church for about four weeks before the renovated part of the building project is completed in mid-October. The new building addition, adjacent to the existing building, is scheduled to be completed in December and to be fully operational in January.